


scales flashing in the sun

by divine_chicken



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe, Inigo's a mercenary, M/M, Not playing an important role, Original Character(s), Xander's a fucking merman, mentions of torture methods, nothing graphic though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 20:04:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17587490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/divine_chicken/pseuds/divine_chicken
Summary: Inigo goes fishing with a fellow mercenary, but they catch no ordinary fish.





	1. Chapter 1

" Ay ! Caught a trout !" Hugo calls out, his brash and unpolished manners shining now more than ever .   
Inigo tried for a smile . He never liked the man, but he was the only other man who was a fisher in the mercenary group he was travelling with . He didn't like .... Anyone, really . But the pay was good, so he didn't really have a choice .   
As he pulled his own net up, he felt something incredibly heavy struggling in it . He pulled the net up faster , curious as to what lay there . If he was lucky, it would be another swordfish . 

..... It was far from a swordfish . The being struggling in his net was a grown man , but it was no human. His tail was a long, sleek black thing that shimmered burgundy in the sunlight, his scales having a golden tint to them that you'd miss if you so much as squinted . It was flapping around in a rapid pace , a low growl at the back of his throat as he struggled to escape . He was clawing and tugging at the net holding him captive , but it was all in vain .   
Inigo gazed at the man in surprise , and the man gazed back at Inigo in sheer fury .  
" Wha-"  
He didn't even finish his phrase before Hugo grabbed the net from Inigo's hands , holding the struggling merman in place .  
" Hugo, let him go-" Inigo tried to prevent him from taking the man captive . He looked like he was in pain . He looked as if he was being taken away from his home . He probably was .   
" Let him go ? Are you out of your mind ?" Hugo snarled . " He's eating our fish every day . He is swimming in our waters every day . He is taking what is ours , Inigo ! Don't you get it ?"   
Inigo's eyes were pained . He knew the rest of his group's members shared Hugo's sentiment about merfolk , but he thought that, perhaps .... he could convince Hugo otherwise . He was foolish to do so .   
The merman gazed at Inigo's fellow fisher with venom in his eyes . He was constantly struggling, but it was pointless .  
" Hugo-"   
" Let's go, Inigo ." The man growled . " We're leaving today, don't you remember ? We'll take it with us ."   
Inigo bowed his head down . Hugo was carrying a weapon . He knew the fight over the merman would end in his losing .

When they started walking back to their group, the merman was struggling ferally, using teeth, claws , and anything he could find on him to escape from the net . Dragging him on the ground was no easy task for Hugo .  
By the end , they might as well be dragging a sack of potatoes . Hugo had been dragging the poor creature for hours on the cold soil, his skin bleeding from the spiked wild plants and the rough rocks he was drawn over . He had completely resigned from trying to escape, letting his fate rest at the hands of his captors . He'd probably accepted his death , and the sight was depressing to say the least .

Hugo walked in the tavern his fellow mercenaries usually wiled the time away in and threw the merman amidst them, as if he were carrying a precious prize , not a living being . He made a low whine at the pain .   
" Alright, fellas , Inigo was lucky enough to catch this... thing . What do we do with it?"   
" Kill it !" Suggested a man , and more followed up , cheering him on .   
" Kill the thing !"  
" Kill it !"  
" We'll have fish to eat for weeks ahead !"  
More cheers .

Hugo pondered the words and fiddled with the knife in his hand , his eyes dangerously glinting . The merman gazed at him with a mix of pride and fear in his eyes . He hadn't cried a single tear . He looked oddly regal , even after he'd been injured like an object , pearls and kelp tangled in his hair, starfish and shells on his skin . He watched with disgust first and foremost, fear being only an afterthought .

" Hmmm..." Hugo teased , in an attempt to watch the merman flinch . " This is too rare to kill . Especially when we can punish it for stealing what's our own first ."  
The crowd roared in agreement, voices covering one another .   
" Starve it !"  
" Mark it !"  
" Bleed it dry !"   
" Pluck its scales !" 

Inigo could watch no more . Not when a living being was treated like livestock .  
He stepped between Hugo and the merman.  
" You won't lay a single finger on him ." He hissed . His blood was boiling with rage .   
" Oh ?" Hugo snarled . " Did you take a liking to .... This ? It's too pretty for you to resist ? Wanna take it to bed ? " He teased Inigo in a manner that was nothing sort of vile .   
Inigo growled . Small he might be, he was as strong, if not stronger than Hugo . He rolled his sleeves up .  
" I was the one who fished him . His fate is mine to decide on ." 

The tavern wouldn't recall who it was that threw the first punch. But when Inigo exited , his knuckles were dripping with blood, his body bruised . He didn't like brawling, but he was better than all those bastards combined .  
He left the tavern with his mercenary group bruised . He needed to travel with them for the money, but he knew they'd never touch the merman again . He was carrying his feverish, tattered body in his arms , now free from the net . He didn't make a move to run away . He couldn't move when he was on land with such a tail . 

 

Inigo placed the feverish merman on his bed , drawing the covers over his trembling body. He unpacked dried meat from his bag and offered it to the merman .   
" Here . You must be starved ."   
The man took the dried meat .   
" Thank you." He replied , speaking for the first time. He ate in a manner that betrayed hunger , but he didn't make a sound.   
As Inigo waited for tea to brew, he rubbed the man's wounds with balm, watching him sigh as the pain left .  
" Kill me ." He heard him say, a sound that startled him .   
" Wha ...?" Inigo breathed .  
" You're only keeping me alive so I can lead you to my nest, aren't you ?" The merman hissed . " I won't tell you . Do as you wish with me , but don't touch them . I won't let you ."  
Inigo tried to process the information . He put a jacket over the merman's shaking body.   
" I won't hurt you . I promise you . I'll do my best to protect you from them ."   
The merman gazed at Inigo curiously .   
" Thank you, " he said, and laid on the bed , shivering with his fever. Inigo wrapped warm blankets around him , hushing him gently as he laid next to him, making sure to leave space between the two .  
" What's your name ?" He asked curiously .  
" Xander ." The merman answered, already half asleep . " Yours ?"  
" Inigo ." He answered . He wanted to strangely hold the man and comfort him .  
" In...igo ." Xander echoed . " Inigo... You're a very nice human ."   
Just like that , he was asleep . Inigo blushed . The man's naïvety was incredibly endearing .

When Inigo wakes up, Xander's still sleeping soundly . As he turns to face him, he finds that he's inched closer to him, his forehead lightly pressed against Inigo's shoulder . His breathing is even and he's lightly purring in his sleep .   
Inigo watches him lightly snore with kindness in his eyes , his fingers lightly tracing his cheek . He gets up and decides to prepare a little something for him .  
When it's done, Inigo gently nudges the merman awake .   
Xander bats an eye open begrudgingly , making noises confused by sleep .   
" Hm ? What .... "   
Inigo places a mug of steaming tea in his hands . It's his mother's recipe, and it smells of cloves , roses and cinnamon . Xander must like the smell if the way he keeps on sniffing the mug is any evidence .  
" Drink it . It'll help you with the fever ." Inigo gently suggests . He doesn't want to touch the man, but Xander inches close to him either way . Poor thing seems to need some comfort . And so, Inigo gently wraps an arm around his waist, and Xander leans into the warm touch, purring lowly as he feels a touch that's not hostile .   
He sips the steaming tea carefully , smiling at Inigo gratefully ." In...Igo . " He tries to pronounce the name . " Thank you . Thank you, Inigo ."


	2. fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inigo brings Xander food to eat.

The next morning, Inigo wakes Xander up .  
" I'm going job-hunting." He tries for a smile . He can't bear his group any longer. And he needs to part from them if he wants to drop Xander back in the sea.   
" Stay in here , hm ?"   
" Yes ...." Xander drowsily mumbles , nesting further in the warm covers . Merfolk needed warm temperatures, or else they got sickly .   
Inigo leaves Xander some cookies to munch on for when he wakes up and throws another blanker over him to make up for the loss of his own warmth . Though he didn't expect him to warm up to him so easily, he clearly built some trust by fighting an entire mercenary group for him . Merfolk were like animals in their displays of trust, physical contact being their prime means of doing so. Xander had no qualms about nuzzling by Inigo's side , purring gently as Inigo's warmth served as comfort to him. Inigo stayed in there for a while , observing the black markings adorning the sides of Xander's face and torso ,matching his sleek, ebony tail.

 

When Inigo returns , Xander's nowhere to be found . The bed is empty, and the plate on which the cookies were has but crumbs on it .  
The door shows no signs of being breached .   
Suddenly, a gust of wind hits Inigo , and he sees that the back door, the one leading to his garden, is open .  
When he walks outside , he finally sees Xander . And he'll be damned if it isn't the dearest of sights .  
Xander's lain down on the ground on his stomach, taking the warm sun, his serene expression betraying just how much he's enjoying this, just how much he needs this . Inigo hears that low purr once again, and his heart swells with something unknown to him .  
" Hmm?" Xander asks , the sunbeams shining magnificently upon his scales . He gets up and blushes .  
" Ah.... you're here , Inigo . I'm sorry, I was just- ah, I was just .... Sunning myself. " He doesn't meet Inigo's gaze .

Inigo matches Xander's blush , his face wonderfully pink .   
" Want to get in ? I caught some stray seagulls for you. "   
Xander's eyes widen, and gets up on his quickly mended tail like a snake would, slinking back into Inigo's house alongside him .   
Now that the sun is not impairing his sight, Xander can clearly see scratches , gashes and wounds on Inigo's arms .   
" Inigo?" He gently asks , watching Inigo drop a small pack of ungracious, dead seagulls next to him on the ground as he plops down on the bed . Xander does the same , laying down shyly .  
" What is it ?" Inigo asks ,taking his boots off.   
" You're hurt."  
Xander takes Inigo's injured hand in his palm and starts gently lapping at it, his soft tongue quickly taking all the blood and dirt away .   
Inigo watches a sight he evidently wasn't prepared for, but he accepts it all the same . Xander lifts his eyes off the marred skin for a moment, and Inigo gives him a reassuring smile .  
Go on, it says .   
It takes a while for Xander to groom every part of hurt skin, but he gets it done . He pulls away and releases Inigo, clearly not aware of the way Inigo's blushing .  
" There ." He says , turning his attention at the pack of dead seagulls . " You're clean,now. "

Inigo blushes heavily as he folds his hands on his lap , mumbling a soft " Thank you ." 

And then, Xander cracks a seagull's head off and starts eating it nonchalantly , and Inigo feels as if he might puke .

Xander looks at him curiously, perhaps a tad hurt that his eating habits disgust Inigo. He pulls a tad farther away and turns his back on Inigo so that he cannot watch . Though Inigo appreciates the gesture , the sounds the dead birds make are not the most attractive . Even so, he endures it for the merman's sake , and whem he offers him a leg to munch on because it's " very crunchy " , he politely declines.   
The merman is strange , and some of his quirks border on animalistic , but he's simultaneously profoundly humane . It shows in the way he holds himself regally , his proud demeanor and his desire of showing Inigo gratitude .   
That night, he nuzzles against Inigo's shoulder once again, and strangely enough, it feels .....right . Inigo dares nuzzle back, and Xander gladly welcomes it .

The next day, Inigo's up very early , brewing a respectable amount of coffee - it's the only way he'll be able to keep himself awake later into the day . What would Xander like for breakfast ? There is no more dead seagulls - thankfully so, given the fact that Inigo cannot handle another experience similar to that of last night's .   
In the end , he decides to experiment and bake him cookies . Not many Feroxi knew , but adding a pinch of sea salt always brought the sweetness of the chocolate out .  
He doesn't even notice Xander slinking into the kitchen, but he feels a light tap on his shoulder .  
" Inigo ?" He gently asks ." What are you creating ?"   
Inigo blinks . Right . No fire under water . Which is probably why Xander's never had anything but raw meat .   
" I'm cooking ." He gently explains , watching Xander's eyes widen with curiosity mixed with amusement.   
" Coo...king ?" Xander repeats, watching Inigo over his shoulder.  
" Yes ." Inigo smiles . " Humans are sensitive . We cannot eat things raw , like you do . And so, we use heat - fire, more specifically - to take anything that could hurt us away ."

Xander's eyebrows knit together in further confusion . " I've heard of fire before, but ..... I've never actually seen it. Can you show me, if you would?"  
" Of course ." He answers.  
Inigo pulls a matchbox out of his pocket and lights a match , watching the way Xander flinches at the sight . He gently pulls it a tad farther away from him, bit Xander still watches bemusedly.  
" It's very, very hot. " Inigo gently warns." Don't touch it, yes?"   
Xander nods, and he gets a tad closer once again . He observes it with a hint of fear, but mostly curiosity . The orange flicker of the flame dances in Xander's eyes , and the way he gazes at it is almost as if it's something precious, something sacred.   
The fire goes out, leaving the stick leaking with smoke . Xander watches the way it curves and twirls with enchantment in his eyes .   
" Inigo... I'm grateful ." He says . " I thank you for showing me your 'fire'. I now know what it is."

Though Xander doesn't know of human food , he devours the cookies Inigo places in his plate all the same .   
" .... Inigo?" Xander asks .  
" What is it ?"  
" Did you find ... A job ?"  
Inigo's silent .   
" Not yet . Worse comes to worse, I'll work as an exotic dancer in a pub by the seashore . But ... That's my last resort." He sighs . His past experiences were foul, to say the least .  
" Give me some time, yes ?"  
Xander observes the way Inigo's eyes darken . He nods and keeps on eating, still watching Inigo curiously .

And , perhaps, that is why he finds himself licking Inigo's wounds at night, a strange attraction mixed with obligation drawing him to Inigo . He needs comfort . And Xander's there to provide it .

Xander's purring lulls Inigo to sleep that night.


	3. rose tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xander sheds some light on his origins.

When Inigo wakes up , Xander’s not hunched by his side , soundly sleeping . It throws Inigo off – the past days , he’s always been sleeping by his side . He still seems tired from the way he was handled by Hugo . He can still see him flinch sometimes , when he holds a blunt object to cut food , or when he makes sudden movements . Poor thing .   
If Inigo’s being honest , he feels strangely drawn to the merman . He cannot put what he feels into words , but it’s enchantment , curiosity and protectiveness all at once .   
He cracks an eye open begrudgingly . The pillow next to him smells faintly of sea salt and burnt sugar . He’s not sure as to where that second smell came from .   
He looks at the floor , and he heard the shuffling of pages . There were books all over it , some closed , some open . In the middle , Inigo saw the man that had left the bed perched upon it , his tail mindlessly swinging as he watched the pages of the book in his hands closely . Inigo wondered if he knew how to read . He certainly seemed as if he were trying, though. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration , and his tongue was sticking out of his mouth . Inigo could’ve died at the adorable sight right then and there . Was this something merfolk did ? Inigo had no answer , but he’d be damned if he didn’t admit to staring for a good minute .

Xander cast his eyes up from the book's pages . Make a good impression . Make a good impression .   
" Good morning, Inigo ." He smiled , and then his tongue was no longer sticking out, something that Inigo honestly found quite distressing . But his genuinely happy smile was also very good .   
" Good morning ." Inigo smiled , half-hidden in the covers .  
" What're you doing ?"   
" I'm .... Reading ." Xander replied, just a tad tentatively . Then again, Inigo was nicer than the vast majority of humans . He was so nice, Xander thought .   
" You can read ?" Inigo asked , his eyes widening in curiosity. He didn't want to get up .  
" Get off the floor and come here. It must be cold there, and you're not exactly clothed...."   
Ah . That . Xander's temperature was naturally lower , so Inigo would often find him shivering . He got up, book still in hand, and slid carefully under the sheets. He gave Inigo a shy , soft smile as he wrapped a woollen blanket Inigo had provided just for his sake around his cold shoulders .   
He looks so cute bundled up, Inigo thinks .   
" My mother used to live in a very friendly village ." Xander fondly recollects. " All of the humans loved her . She'd live among them, sharing their lives, their food , as if they had nothing to separate. " He takes a moment to collect his thoughts .   
" When I was a babe , she'd sometimes take me to meet them . They taught me how to read , their tongue , and their songs . It's how I'm able to speak to you ."   
" Oh ... " Inigo smiles reassuringly . " That sounds wonderful. "  
" It was." Xander agrees . " Until a group caught her, killed her and ate her . After that incident, I never visited the village again . I was too scared . "  
" Oh..." Inigo's gaze is sad, and he softly places his hand over Xander's. Xander leans his head on Inigo's shoulder gently . He smells of roses, he notices.  
" It's alright." Xander assures him . " I carry on her memory . Everyone else conveniently forgets that she even existed . It's a bit odd, to forget a queen. But I don't. She was too kind a mother . "   
" I...." Inigo is at a loss. " You're a prince?" His mind tries to process the information . If he's being honest, it's not too hard a concept to get behind of . Xander's certainly very regal, and the pearls and shells he wears in his hair look expensive.   
" That I am." Xander nods . " And... I thought all humans were like the humans that took her from me. But I was wrong . " He smiles at Inigo softly . " You could never hurt me. I trust you , Inigo . "   
" I trust you too ." Inigo replies gently . " If all merfolk are like you, they must be wonderful."   
Xander blushes ,a turquoise color . His tail sways softly , contently.   
" That being said...." Inigo ponders. " I'm pretty hungry . Have you had breakfast ?"  
Xander shakes his head , and Inigo reluctantly slips out of bed . " You stay here ." He smiles at Xander . " I'll go make a nice meal for both of us."   
Xander blushes even further and nods affirmatively , his smile shy . He reopens his book and resumes his reading . 

 

It is a sweet, calm morning . The smell of rose tea fills the room, and Xander doesn't seem to want to stop sniffing his cup instead of actually drinking his tea. They'd made bread with seeds together last night, and Inigo finds that it tastes delicious, if only because they made it together . He sighs contently . 

 

The human's smile is very pretty, Xander notices . He can't explain as to why or how, but he likes Inigo a whole lot, and not just because he saved him . It's because Inigo's kind and understanding and very, very pretty , and he always smells like roses . 

He takes a sip of the tea . When Inigo comes home that night, he'll ask him how to make it . It smells like him, and Xander wants Inigo by his side even when he's away. 

Inigo hears Xander's low purr and smiles .   
This feels like home .


End file.
